San Diego metro, California

Welcome to the San Diego metro HousingGauge, your weekly local market report for the week of October 5, 2026.

Here is the headline. San Diego metro's HousingGauge score is 30 out of 100, which puts the market in the RED zone. Conditions have weakened over the past three months, and financing remains expensive.

Three developments stand out this week.

First: Score down 17 points over 13 weeks. The score moved from 47 to 30 over the past 13 weeks, driven mainly by Mortgage Conditions (−6.3 points).

Second: Mortgage rates up 0.85 points in three months. The 30-year fixed rate averages 7.28%, versus 6.43% three months ago.

Third: Homes selling faster. The median home takes 29 days to sell, 27.5% shorter than a year ago.

Now, what is behind the score?

Mortgage Conditions scores 12 out of 100. The 30-year fixed rate averages 7.28%, up 0.82 percentage points over six months. Financing remains expensive, limiting affordability for leveraged buyers.

Supply & Buyer Leverage scores 33 out of 100. Inventory is 8.0% lower than a year ago (5,299 active listings), with 2.8 months of supply. Homes take a median 29 days to sell at 99.2% of list price, and 19.3% of listings have had a price cut. Sellers retain most of the negotiating leverage.

Monetary Conditions scores 53 out of 100. The real policy rate is 1.24%, 0.23 points above the estimated neutral rate (r-star) of 1.01% — a near neutral stance. The fed funds rate has risen 0.24 points over six months.

Demand Trend scores 41 out of 100. Pending sales are 8.8% lower than a year ago and closed sales are 3.9% lower. Days on market are 27.5% shorter than a year ago. Buyer demand has softened.

Valuation & Affordability scores 8 out of 100. The median home costs 9.1 times the median household income. Principal and interest on a typical purchase would take 59.6% of that income at current rates. Inflation-adjusted prices are 2.6% higher than a year ago. Prices are stretched relative to local incomes.

Local Economy scores 31 out of 100. Local unemployment is 4.9% and employment is down 1.6% year over year. The local job market is softening.

Rental Economics scores 34 out of 100. A year of median rent equals 3.7% of the median price (a price-to-rent ratio of 26.9). Rents are up 2.0% year over year. Rental yields are thin relative to prices.

The score is down 2 points from last week's report (32 to 30). Over 13 weeks it is down 17 points, from 47 to 30. The largest contributors were Mortgage Conditions (−6.3 points) and Demand Trend (−4.4 points).

So what would move San Diego metro into the yellow? It would take several changes together: 30-year mortgage rate falls below 6.40% (now 7.28%); pending sales grow more than 3.0% year over year (now −8.8%); the Fed cuts more than 0.35 pts over six months (now +0.24 pts); policy gap (real policy rate minus r-star) narrows below −0.65 pts (now +0.23 pts); months of supply rises above 4.5 months (now 2.8 months); and mortgage rates keep falling over three months (now +0.85 pts).

And what could make conditions worse? Watch for these together: 30-year mortgage rate rises above 7.65% (now 7.28%); pending sales fall more than 13.5% year over year (now −8.8%); the Fed raises rates more than 0.50 pts over six months (now +0.24 pts); policy gap (real policy rate minus r-star) widens above +0.60 pts (now +0.23 pts); and months of supply falls below 2.1 months (now 2.8 months).

That is the San Diego metro HousingGauge for this week. The HousingGauge score describes market conditions. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell, and it is not individualized financial advice. For charts, sources and the full methodology, visit housinggauge.com. Thanks for listening.